Chapter 33:The way out 3
1163 Words
DAISY'S POV
"I can feel the pack's hatred," I said. "It's affecting my child. The baby isn't moving as much as it should."
Emma's healer instincts kicked in. "May I check?" she asked, reaching toward my belly.
I nodded and she put her hands on my stomach. Warm, golden light came from her fingers - similar to my power but gentler.
After a minute, she frowned.
"The baby is stressed," she said. "Its heartbeat is too fast."
"Is that bad?"
"It could be," Emma said. "If the stress continues, it might make you go into labor too early."
Fear shot through me. "What can I do?"
"You need to stay calm," Emma said. "And you need to be around people who don't hate you."
"But I can't leave."
Emma was quiet for a long time, thinking.
"I might be able to help," she said finally. "But it would be very dangerous for both of us."
"What do you mean?"
"I could try to use magic to contact your mate," she said. "Send him a message telling him where you are."
Hope filled my chest. "You could do that?"
"Maybe," Emma said. "But if Nick found out I used magic for anything besides healing, he would kill us both."
"I understand the danger," I said. "But I have to try. For my baby."
Emma nodded slowly. "Then we'll try. But not tonight. I need time to prepare the spell."
"How long?"
"A few days," she said. "I need to gather ingredients without anyone noticing."
"Thank you so much," I said, grabbing her hand.
"Don't thank me yet," Emma said. "This might not work. And even if it does, your mate might not be able to find us."
"He'll find a way," I said confidently. "Noah never gives up."
Emma smiled. "I hope you're right."
She picked up the empty plate and went toward the door.
"Emma," I called after her.
"Yes?"
"Why are you really helping me?"
Emma stopped at the door. "Because I know what it feels like to be alone and afraid. And because there's something special about your power. Something that feels very old and important."
Before I could ask what she meant, Emma left and locked the door behind her.
I sat alone in the darkness, thinking about her words. Old and important power? What did that mean?
I put my hands on my belly and felt the baby move a little. At least my child was still okay for now.
"Hold on, little one," I whispered. "Help is coming."
But as the night went on, I started to feel like someone was watching me from outside. Something that didn't feel like the pack wolves.
I went to the barred window and looked out. At first I saw nothing. Then, at the edge of the forest, I saw two red eyes staring back at me.
My blood turned cold. Those weren't wolf eyes. They were something else entirely.
Something that had followed me here.
As I watched, more red eyes appeared in the darkness. Dozens of them. All focused on my little prison house.
The creatures that my power had attracted to Noah's territory - they had followed me here too. They had tracked me across all those miles.
And I had a terrible feeling they would try to get to me soon.
I was trapped between a pack that wanted to kill me and monsters that wanted to devour me.
And there was nowhere to run.
THE NEXT MORNING
Emma came to bring me breakfast, but she looked scared and kept looking over her shoulder.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Something terrible happened last night," she said shakily. "Four of our border guards were found dead."
My stomach dropped. "Dead how?"
"All their blood was drained," Emma said. "But it wasn't vampires. It was something else."
I thought about the red eyes I had seen.
"Emma," I said urgently, "I need to tell you something. Last night I saw-"
"Emma!" a harsh voice called from outside. "What's taking so long?"
Emma's face went pale. "That's NICK. I have to go."
"Wait," I said, grabbing her arm. "Those creatures that killed your guards - they're here because of me. My power attracts them."
Emma's eyes went wide. "What do you mean?"
"I mean this whole pack is in danger as long as I'm here," I said. "And it's only going to get worse."
The door burst open and Nick stormed in with three other wolves.
"Emma, you're taking too long," Nick said suspiciously. "What are you talking about?"
"I was just checking on the baby," Emma said quickly. "Making sure it's healthy."
NICK looked between us with cold eyes. "Is there something I should know?"
That's when we heard screaming from outside.
"Alpha Nick!" someone shouted. "We're under attack!"
Nick ran to the window and cursed. "What are those things?"
I looked out and saw creatures pouring out of the forest in broad daylight. Dozens of shadow demons, blood monsters, and things I didn't have names for. All heading for the village.
"This is your fault," Nick said, turning to glare at me. "You brought these monsters here."
"I didn't mean to," I said. "But I can help fight them."
"You're not leaving this house," Nick said.
"If I stay here, more of your people will die," I said. "My power is the only thing that can stop these creatures."
Nick grabbed my shoulders. "If you're lying, if this is some trick-"
"Look around you!" I shouted. "Does this look like a trick?"
Outside, the screaming was getting louder. I could hear the pack trying to fight the creatures, but their claws and teeth couldn't hurt shadow demons.
"Let me help," I begged. "Please. I can save them."
Nick looked torn between his hatred of me and his need to protect his pack.
"Nick," Emma said urgently, "she's right. Without her power, we can't win."
"And if I let her out and she betrays us?"
"Then you kill me," I said simply. "But at least give your people a chance."
Another scream came from outside, and Nick made his decision.
"Fine," he said, unlocking my chains. "But if you try to run-"
"I won't run," I said, standing up. "I'm tired of running."
I walked out of the house and saw chaos everywhere. The creatures had reached the village and were attacking everyone. Pack members were fighting desperately, but their weapons couldn't hurt the shadow demons.
I took a deep breath and reached for my power.
But something was wrong. The golden warmth that usually filled me felt blocked somehow. When I tried to call it up, nothing happened.
"What's wrong?" Emma asked, seeing my confused look.
"I can't use my power," I said in horror. "Something is stopping it."
That's when I heard a voice behind me that I never expected to hear again.
"That would be my doing," the voice said.
I turned around and felt my heart stop.
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